When I lived in Vancouver in 2007, teaching and managing a housing research project at the University of British Columbia, I had several interesting accommodation experiences. The first one was terrible: a chronically ill middle-aged couple with a dog who was dying of cancer. They slept with the dog and spent all day… Continue reading Local Wisdom about Apartment Storage
Tag: Wendy Sarkissian PhD
Officeworks and Reflex Paper: “I have to pay my mortgage and feed my dogs”
September 12, 2011 – 5:34 pm Officeworks Lismore: a Bulletin On Saturday I drove 72 kms. round-trip to my local Officeworks store in Lismore, NSW in the vain hope that they might have stopped stocking Reflex paper. I signed the pledge and the petition (with 11,000 others!) months ago and so far… Continue reading Officeworks and Reflex Paper: “I have to pay my mortgage and feed my dogs”
Helping Sally at dinner: what to do at the dinner table when sustainability comes up?
Old friends having dinner and reminiscing in the comfort of Sally’s spacious home. We’re talking about the environmental crisis facing the Earth, and my concerns about flying across the Pacific Ocean from Australia for my teaching job in Vancouver. I’m certainly worried about the environmental impacts of all that travel and yet I really want… Continue reading Helping Sally at dinner: what to do at the dinner table when sustainability comes up?
Criticisms of community engagement
It’s a worry! I’ve explained before that community engagement – especially with sustainability – is not an easy task. Many people argue that it is problematic and can actually hurt those it most intends to benefit. So let’s just have a quick look at some of the major criticisms. I’d love… Continue reading Criticisms of community engagement
Wendy Sarkissian on Nimby Psychology at The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Adelaide, 29 May 2013
NIMBY psychology is coming to Adelaide! On 29th May at 6 pm, I will be presenting on NIMBY psychology at a free public lecture at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia. The lecture is free but seating is lmited… Continue reading Wendy Sarkissian on Nimby Psychology at The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Adelaide, 29 May 2013
Better Together? Let’s Get Practical!
Better Together Last week, an Adelaide-based colleague gave me a copy of Better Together: Principles of Engagement, just published by the South Australian Government. You can read about it at: https://saplan.org.au/yoursay and https://saplan.org.au/better_together You can also comment. I tried to do that but… Continue reading Better Together? Let’s Get Practical!
“Realising the Revolution”: Medium-Density Housing in Queensland by Bridget Rogan and Fran Toomey
First posted June 8, 2012 – 3:21 pm Two Brisbane Planners Call for a “Revolutionary” Approach to Increasing Housing Density: Realising the Revolution? In a recent paper to the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) Queensland conference, Bridget Rogan and Fran Toomey of the Council of Mayors (SEQ) presented the results of work… Continue reading “Realising the Revolution”: Medium-Density Housing in Queensland by Bridget Rogan and Fran Toomey
Emotions Count in Community Engagement
There’s lots of discussion about emotion in community engagement these days. Maybe that’s because we’ve ignored this important component for decades. Adelaide’s independent newspaper, InDaily, recommends, following an interview with me last week, that we “consider emotion in community engagement.” The… Continue reading Emotions Count in Community Engagement
NIMBY psychology at Harvard University February 2013
NIMBY psychology comes to Harvard — from Australia! February was an exciting month for me. I spent it teaching in the Graduate School of Design (GSD) at Harvard University and giving lectures and classes at MIT and Tufts University. It was exceptionally cold for a person who lives in the sub-tropics. A… Continue reading NIMBY psychology at Harvard University February 2013
Banging on about Bang the Table
A couple of times recently, I’ve heard Australians complain about the Australian online engagement firm, Bang the Table (BTT) (see https://bangthetable.com/). I’ve done their training and greatly admire their work, which I see as directly complementary to my more “hands-on” approaches. I decided it was time to sort things out in my own… Continue reading Banging on about Bang the Table
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